No matter the substance of the issue admitting there is a problem is a small but critical step on the road to remedying it. Australia has a problem with women. In a nutshell the problem is this: we’re not really sure what role we want women to play. Our problem is compounded and complicated by our collective failure to recognise, or accept, the problem exists. Some of this refusal is motivated by innocent ignorance, some by something more malevolent. Regardless of the roots of our denial its impact is the same. It distorts the picture and takes the focus off the fact there is a problem.
And, for completeness, there is a problem, a problem that manifests in verifiable symptoms. The problem is not merely a vendetta harboured by angry women. (The temptation to couch it that way only reinforces the existence of the problem). Australia’s problem with women is evident in the enduring pay gap, the disproportionate representation of women in senior roles in every sector, the casual sexism women face, the harassment and violence that women are subject to and the overwhelming discrimination women face.
It is evident by the fact Australia’s workplace participation rate of women’s drops off more than the average for advanced economies. It is evident in that stark gap that the World Economic Forum has highlighted: Australia educates women better than any other country in the world but the workforce participation of these females, educated though they might be, ranks 52nd in the world and is slipping backwards. How can this be, you might ask?
Think about it. In Australian in 2014 we educate girls in the same way we educate boys. It’s difficult to imagine the reaction would be anything short of aghast if anyone suggested otherwise. In some ways we absolutely expect that girls and boys are equal – capable of whatever they choose.
But at the end of their education, whether they leave school or university, Australian girls will enter a world that is not nearly as egalitarian as they will, often unquestioningly, expect. On paper, and in theory, the workplace is as free as a classroom. In most fields males and females are likely to comprise equal numbers as they take the first steps on their career ladder. In many cases women and men will enter workplaces oblivious to the threat of inequality. And why shouldn’t they?
It’s 2014 and they live in Australia so surely gender equality is a given. They may have heard about the glass ceiling and they can see there are fewer women up the chain but things are changing and it’s their choice. If women choose to leave work to have a baby, or a family, that’s their choice. Younger women of today will make different choices and avoid that fate.
The trouble is, as the Pregnancy Review revealed last week, that fate is hard to avoid. In light of the damning research that shows one in two Australian women are discriminated against whilst they are pregnant or returning to work, it’s impossible to evaluate a woman’s career “choices” through a prism of free will. In many cases women didn’t choose to leave, so much as they were forced to leave.
Ultimately, and increasingly, the problems like the pay gap, the underrepresentation of women in senior roles and the discrimination women face, perpetuate because of an unwillingness to recognise the cause and the intricate causal relationships between the symptoms. The truth is Australia doesn’t really know what it wants.
We like the idea of women being equal in the workplace but we also like the idea of women being mothers and homemakers.
We like the idea of women being paid equally but we also like women who are polite and less willing to ask for more money. We like the idea of telling women to lean in and up their confidence but we support workplaces that ultimately make leaning in an exhausting and often fruitless exercise for women.
We like the idea of merit but we fail to question whether merit is truly being assessed or is it the status quo? We like the idea of mothers working but we reserve the right to judge them for doing that – or their jobs – badly or differently.
We like the idea of fathers being involved parents but when discussing issues like paid parental leave and childcare policy we only talk about mums. We like the idea of childcare in some regards but we also like to speak disdainfully about those who use it as if it’s tantamount to neglect.
We like the idea of stamping out sexual harassment but we also rather like defending a person’s right to offend and “be funny”. We agree that sexism is wrong but then depending on the target or the perpetrator we can’t help but argue that it’s all a big ruse; a problem feigned by angry feminists to catch out “their opponents”. (The day a feminist has to feign frustration will be welcome.)
Until we recognise the inconsistencies between what we expect and value in women, and the effect those expectations have, the problem will flourish. If we want to rectify it, admitting Australia has a problem is the first vital step.